Orofino,Idaho-Window on the Clearwater
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Serving the community needs for over 90 years

Part 2

To see the previous article about the history of the businesses click here...

Dec. 1, 2007, the Crocketts opened Clearwater Builders Supply between Kamiah and Kooskia. This 26,000 square foot store featured a drive-thru lumberyard, hunting and fishing section, and a Do-It-Best retail store and was designed to become a one-stop shop for all of their customer's building needs.

Centrally located between the existing Orofino Builders Supply and Grangeville Builders Supply, the new store helped centralize the distribution of building materials and allow them to service a greater segment of the Clearwater Valley and Camas Prairie.

In 2012, Will bought his parents interest in the business and Steve passed over control, just as his father and grandfather did before him.

Will was asked: What it is like to be the latest generation involved with the business?

Will said, "There is a lot of pride for me when asked this question, knowing that 3 generations of my family have worked hard to build this business prior to me. I still have older customers that come in and tell me that my grand-father used to install all there carpet, or that my father was the only person they trusted to buy lumber from. One vivid memory was an older guy that looked me in the eye and told me that my great-grandfather, Oren Crockett, gave his father a handful of nails on credit back in the depths of the Great Depression. He said he remembered it well, nails in those days were hard to come by and everybody was flat broke. Those nails put a roof over the family's head and were worth their weight in gold. Stories like that Make the long hours and stressful days worthwhile."

"We have added a few things since 2012. We closed the sporting goods store at Clearwater Builders and opened a design center featuring appliances, flooring, cabinets and window coverings. We bought a new home for our Orofino Design center on Michigan avenue. It is nice to finally have our design center in our own building. We also took on the dealership for Husqvarna power equipment. We sell everything from mowers and riding mowers, trimmers, cultivators, snowblowers to chain saws. We also have our own repair shop in Kamiah and a great small engine mechanic named Travis Gunter. We recently took on the Pratt & Lambert paint line to compliment our Do It Best paint line."

"We are looking at major renovations of both our Orofino and Grangeville operations. Remodels are disruptive and difficult, but we are committed to constant improvement. OBS is a very narrow operation, sandwiched between Highway 7 and the Railroad tracks, but we still do a very respectable volume. Our Grangeville yard has been in continuous operation since the 1940's. We have done several face-lifts over the year, but a larger project is coming."

As the needs of the communities change, the Crocketts have tried to keep up with those changes. They continue to look for ways to serve the needs of their customers and in the last couple of years have added takeoff services, crane service, and installed insulation to their repertoire.

"It is always a struggle for small business to make it in this world of big retailers. We work very hard to make sure our customers get what they want at a competitive price. People in small communities are learning that if they want to keep their local businesses, they need to support them and the businesses are learning that they need to go above and beyond to keep their customers happy."

The Crocketts have committed themselves to putting the needs of their customers at the forefront as evidenced by the expansion of their business over the years. There have many changes over the last 90 years but the Crockett family's commitment to quality and customer service has remained unchanged and will continue into the future.


Window on the Clearwater
P.O. Box 2444
Orofino, ID 83544
Phone: (208) 476-0733
Fax: (208) 476-4140
Email